Kymco People S 250, 1412mi, Mobil1 4T Racing 10W40

[crosseyedwx]

This is my first UOA ever, woohoo!

Anyways, just bought this scooter last month from someone who bought it in May. I wanted to get a baseline for oil changes. This looks great to me. Looks to be able to do 3K changes on this oil with little difficulty. I use it on most mornings (when it is above 45 degrees) to deliver newspapers, so it sees a lot of stop and go over the 30mi route. I also use it to take a 85mi round trip to the next town and back on Sundays, most of it at about 65mph.

Current fill is the same Mobil 1, with Valvoline 80W90 gear oil for the rear wheel.

Just wanted to share a bike of different stripes! Please share/comment!

 

[XS650]

I haven't seen many KYMCOs since I spent some time in Taiwan about 11 years ago. Are they still fully made in Taiwan or have the outsourced to Mainland China?

Your numbers look like it's well built engine, prolly still made in Taiwan.

 

[Ncogburn]

Thanks for posting this. Don't see a lot (any?) UOA's for scooters. My only concern might be the flash point, as Mobil states it should be 487 deg/F. The tested flashpoint of 390 would tell me there's some fuel in there. It would account for the viscosity reading in the mid-to-high 30's range. Otherwise looks pretty dog-gone decent.

 

[berlyn]

Hi Ncogburn,
I think there is an issue with the Phosphorus and Zinc content.The levels should be higher,compared with the VOA analysis of the MX4T.Did Mobil reduce the levels?anybody has any info?

 

[crosseyedwx]

If I recall correctly, my bike was made AND assembled in Taiwan. Some of the smaller scoots by Kymco and Sym and a few others are being assembled in China, but the parts are still Taiwanese/Korean. That's the word on the street at least.

Can't explain the fuel...the scoot was run quite a few miles the morning I drew the sample.

 

[sunruh]

if the fuel really is less than 0.5% then m1, again, sheared out of grade in under 1500 miles. the low flash does indicate fuel, but i have a uoa with the exact same 390F

 

[crosseyedwx]

So, sunruh, do you think there is another oil I should try? The wear was not bad, but then again, the oil was on the top side of 30 after 1400 mi. Would you try again on this oil for 3k mi?

 

[sunruh]

yeah try it for 3000mi. i wanna see a 20wt out of M1.

are you gonna ride it all winter? how cold does it get in which you would cold start it? i'm gonna guess maybe 25 on a blue moon there in talla, right?

 

[crosseyedwx]

Yeah, it's hit 18 once or twice a winter. Looking at 27 tomorrow morning actually. I have ridden it at 30 once and that was a bit much. Coldest I'll probably ride is about 45 or so. I'll ride it during the day when sunny and cool, so it definitely is not seeing as many miles as of late. Cold start would probably be somewhere between 55-65, maybe once or twice below that.

 

[sunruh]

well, what oci are you wanting to achive?
1k, 2k or 3k or what?

 

[crosseyedwx]

3k would be nice, more if possible, but I don't have an oil filter on the bike, just a screen. I am willing to try different oils, if anyone has any suggestions as to what may perform better. Would it even be wise to go longer?

 

[sunruh]

no filter?

and a shared sump?

wozers! i would not go over 1k then. clutch fibers going all over the place or other solids for that matter.

run the cheapest you can find and dump it often!

 

[XS650]

I believe it has no clutch and no shared sump.

Considering the small amount of oil and no filter, I still agree on the frequent changes.

 

[crosseyedwx]

It has a dry clutch on the rear wheel with a variator attached to the engine output shaft. The engine seemed to be pretty easy on the oil, all things considered. It is a water-cooled bike, so the engine isn't running terribly warm.

 

[ktk_ace]

i run the same oil on my cygnusX 125 which is unfortunatly air cooled.

factory settings say i have to change oil overy 2000KM.

i changed my mx4t on the 1200km mark , oil seems to be going strong though.

 

[Mackelroy]

I can understand having it on the road 7 days a week, the longest change interval would be of great value.

Your change interval is pretty expensive for $10 perquart oil IMO

I dont know how many quarts it holds, but that adds up cost wise.

I also run a vehicle that sees alot of miles and I hate changing the oil, so I thought 15w40 rotella for a 1year oil change. Started out great then about 5,000 mile that stuff looked like it was starting to sludge. Went back to car oil to clean it all up took a couple changes.

 

[beanoil]

The People is a single cylinder 250 water cooled twist and go. No need for a special oil, the M1 is overkill. Rotella 15-40 every 2-3000 miles is all you need. If YOU feel the need Rotella T synthetic is a fine option, but really not necessary. Your scoot will be easy on oil. You have a nice looking scoot. Nice style, good power.